


A change of fate

by fandomstuff767



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Beta Wanted, Bucky Barnes & Tony Stark Friendship, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes and the 21st Century, M/M, Post-Iron Man 1, Pre-Slash, Slow Burn, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier as a Separate Personality, protective winter soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-03-23 00:50:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13776186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomstuff767/pseuds/fandomstuff767
Summary: "I am  Iron Man."After Tony Stark comes to the world as Iron Man, Tony wonders about his parents' deaths. His father crashing a car? Not likely. With the help of JARVIS Tony finds the person responsible,  and he goes to find them. But what he found wasn't what he expected. The Winter Soldier. That's what SHIELD called them.And Tony was going to have his revenge.* Edit 14/09/2018 I'm changing this story, it will have a similar plot but instead of Tony getting revenge he will be trying to help The Winter Soldier instead. I will be uploading on a fresh story so I don't confuse anyone, and this story is discontinued.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first avengers fanfic and my first work on Archive of our own. I hope you like it.

"JARVIS, pull up all SHIELD files referencing Howard Stark." Tony said before dribeing a big gulp of coffee. He'd spent the day making upgrades on the suit before deciding to find out the answer to the question that had been bugging him for years. JARVIS spent a few minutes running through SHIELD's recently hacked files before displaying all of the files referencing Howard. There were many, some even dating back to before his death. One in particular caught Tony's eye, and he brought it up.

**The Winter Soldier** , the file was labelled. He scrolled through it quickly, and he was unimpressed with its length. Sighing, he scrolled back up and began to read. It was about halfway down the screen when Tony froze, his eyes wide.

**Killed Howard and Maria Stark, 1991**

Tony's eyes read the sentence again and again,  rage bubbling underneath the surface. This Winter Soldier had killed his parents. Killed his mom.

Underneath was a video, and Tony clicked on it, his hands balling into fists. It was a traffic camera, detailing his parents' car being rammed into by a figure on a motorcycle. The car crashed and the biker stopped, getting off the motorcycle and making their way towards the car. There was a metal arm glinting beside them instead of a left. Tony watched as a the person beat his father to death and pushed him back into the car, a pain in his chest, and when the figure moved over to the passenger seat the pain grew bigger as Tony' breath caught in his throat. He saw his mother strangled before his eyes, and his brain was unable to process anything after that.

Tony sat there in silence long after the screen went dark from the person shooting the camera, his mind racing a mind a minute until he understood one thing. 

The Winter Soldier was going to pay.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finds the Soldier, and doesn't know what to do with him.

It had taken him a few days but Tony had managed to track down where HYDRA had been keeping their Winter Soldier. In Siberia. Getting to Siberia without Pepper finding out? Slightly harder, and Tony was pretty sure she knew he was up to something, but she hadn' said anything to him, so he went on with his plans. 

And that's how Tony found himself freezing in the Iron Man suit, staring at the face of his parents' murderer. Who was in a crystostasis chamber. Tony looked at the Winter Soldier in anger before paying attention to the pad beside him, which would enable him to control the chamber. After translation from JARVIS (the pad was written on in Russian), Tony managed to get the door to the chamber open, and the Winter Soldier opened his eyes.

"Ready to comply." He said, and Tony's eyes narrowed. Ready to comply with what? "Ready to comply." The Soldier repeated, a blank expression on his face. Tony stared at him confusedly for a moment before speaking. "Hi, I'm Tony Stark."

The Soldier looked up at Tony, emotionless. "Are you my new handler?" He asked, his voice scratchy. Tony began to shake his head before stooping himself. If the Soldier thought he was one of his 'handlers', maybe he would find out why he had killed his parents. The Soldier followed Stark's movement with his eyes.

"I am your new handler, Tony Stark. And you killed my parents. Howard and Maria Stark." Tony watch the Soldier's face, but his expression didn't change. "December 16, 1991. Mission report?" The Soldier said, and Tony said nothing, so he continued. "Kill Howard Stark. Make it look like an accident. Take the serum. No witnesses."

The Soldier reminded Tony of someone, though he wasn't sure who. And the newest information sent Tony's brain reeling. "What serum?" Tony asked, and the Soldier replied instantly. "Super soldier serum." Tony's mind started racing, wondering why HYDRA had needed this serum. "What for?" He asked, and the Soldier looked down at his lap, ashamed. "I-I don't know." He said, and Tony saw a flash of fear cross the Soldier's face.

"Hey, what's your name?" Tony found himself asking, and the Soldier looked up at him. "I don't have one. My handlers usually call me the Asset." Tony turned towards him in shock, and he shook his head. "No way in hell you're getting called that. What about James?" The Soldier nodded, and Tony felt some of the anger towards James dissipate. He was still angry at him for his parents' deaths, how could he not be? But there was something slightly more human about him now he had a name.

Now what did HYDRA need super soldier serum for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here was chapter two. I hope you enjoyed it, and what do you think of Tony's choice for the Soldier's name?


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Bucky get an unexpected visitor. Mainly in James POV.

James watched Tony's movements carefully, the way he had always done. He couldn't remember how he had become the Soldier, he just knew he was the Soldier. Tony wasn't like his other handlers, he knew that much. Tony was nicer, for one, and he hadn't given James any orders.

And Tony had given him a name. He hadn't had one before. He was either called the Asset or Soldier.  
  
James didn't understand Tony, and he was pulled from his thoughts when he heard someone appoaching the room with the cryostatis chamber in it, and when he glanced at Tony, he knew the other had heard it too. James clenched his metal fist as he silently walked behind the door as the footsteps became louder.

A man opened the door and stepped inside the room. James looked out of the corner of his eye and saw Tony hiding on the opposite side of the room. The man hadn't seen either of them yet but James knew it wouldn't last for long. "Soldat." The man said, and James exhaled quietly before quietly walking over to the man quickly. Once the man realised that James was the Soldier, he didn't have enough time to say anything before he was knocked out cold.

After a few moments Tony emerged from the other side of the room, staring at James. "Why did you do that?" He asked, and James felt slightly panicked. He hadn't been ordered to knock the man out. What if he was punished? James couldn't remember what the punishment was, but he didn't want it to happen.

Tony must have seen the scared look on James' face as he rushed to reassure the man. "Hey look, it's fine. I'm glad you did it actually. I just wanted to know why you did it." James looked down at his metal hand uncertainly. "I - I don't know. I just felt like I was supposed to do it." He said quietly. Tony nodded before speaking again. "So, I think we should get out of here befoe anyone else turns up. You coming?" James thought for a moment as Tony spoke again. "You don't have to if you don't want to." James nodded, and walked over to the door, Tony following soon after, giving the Soldier enough space for him to feel comfortable.

The two didn't see anyone on their way out, which surprised Tony slightly. They didn't talk to each other either, each inside their own minds.

Tony just needed to work out what he was going to tell Pepper when he got back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and I would love to hear you guys thoughts on the story and what you think should happen next.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony (with help from Pepper) finds out who James is.

**Tony POV**

After Tony had gotten JARVIS to bring a helicopter to their location, he turned towards James. "Do you remember anything before you came the Soldier?" Tony asked. James looked over at him, and after a few moments, shook his head. Tony couldn' shake the feeling he knew who James was, but he kept his thoughts to himself. James stood a little way off from him and avoided Tony's gaze.

When the helicopter arrived, Tony spoke to James again. "You can come with me and I can help you with the world, or you can work it out by yourself if you want." James walked slowly towards Tony. He stopped a metre away and spoke quietly. "I-I would like help. I do not know anything f outside of HYDRA." Tony nodded and got inside the helicopter, James following behind him. He was about to tell JARVIS to fly the helicopter before he stopped. "James, there is someone you should meet. JARVIS, say hi." Tony said, and James looked around confusedly as JARVIS said "Hello sir, James."

"JARVIS is an AI - Artificial Intelligence," he added for James' benefit. "He basically runs everything, my suit, the helicopter, all of that. I built him. If you ever need anything, just ask JARVIS." James nodded and then looked around slightly before speaking. "T-Tony?" He said quietly, and Tony looked at him. "Thank you. For taking me away from HYDRA. But you should have killed me. It was the least you could do, I killed your parents." At James' words Tony's eyes darkened. "Hey, listen to me. From what I've been able to work out, you were ordered to do it. I don't think you wanted to do it." He said seriously, and James looked down at his hands.

* * *

 

Once the helicopter landed on top of Stark Tower, Tony saw Pepper standing just inside, her eyes trained on the helicopter. He groaned quietly. "Damn, hadn' planned for Pepper. Uh James - can you hang back here for a bit? I'l come and get you in a minute. After receiving a silent nod from James, Tony left the helicopter.

"Miss Potts! Fancy seeing you here." Tony said with a grin. Pepper smiled slightly at him. "Mr Stark. What was so urgent that you needed a helicopter? You didn' get hurt did you?" She asked, eyes roaming over him, checking for injuries. "No, I'm fine. Really." He said at her raised eyebrow. "There' just someone I want you to meet. And keep out of the public eye for as long as possible." Pepper looked Tony in the eye and sighed quietly. "Tony, what have you gotten yourself into?" 

Tony led Pepper to the helicopter, making sure to keep I  James' line of sight so he wouldn' startle the Soldier. Something told him that would be a bad idea. "James, I want you to meet Pepper." He called, and Soldier emerged from the shadows of the helicopter. Tony heard Pepper gasp and turned to her instantly. "Tony." She said slowly. "Where did you manage to find Bucky Barnes?" She asked, her voice wavering slightly.

* * *

"You mean I brought Captain America's best friend home. The same friend who was a Prisoner of war in World War 2. Who fell from a train. 'Best friends both on playground and battelfield' James Barnes?" Tony said, staring blankly into space. Pepper nodded, and James watched both of them silently, trying to understand what was going on.

"He doesn't remember anything Pepper." Tony tells her, and then suddenly stops moving. Pepper stared a him as Tony turned towards James. "James," he said, and James looked at him. "Do you know Steve Rogers?" James started to shake his head no and then paused, his eyes widening. "St-Stevie." He said quietly. Tony told JARVIS to pull up a picture of Steve Rogers under his breath and watched and watched as James' eyes were transfixed on the image. 

The picture was of Steve before he had the serum, and James took in each detail of the photo before JARVIS changed the image. The next one was of Bucky and Steve, and both had large carefree smiles on their faces, Bucky's arm around the much taller Steve's shoulders. James studied the photo before speaking again.

"That's - that's me." James said slowly as he turned away from the image.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's longer than my others, and apparently being bored in lessons gets your creative juices flowing. Next update should be soon, as I'm watching Infinity War on Friday. However, if it isn't on this story then I might do one as part of my MCU fluff stories.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Realization, Remembering and a little sadness, followed by the startings of some fluff.
> 
> Or, James remembers a few things from the past, he learns a things and Tony wants to make him feel better.

**James POV**

James looked over at Tony and Pepper, confusion shown on his face. Tony looked at him for a moment before speaking. "Yeah that's you. Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes. You fought in World War Two alongside Cap - alongside Captain America." Tony's voices falters when he says Captain America, but he continues. "It's been almost 70 years since the war.

James' face went from shocked to scarily blank in a few seconds. "What happened to the other man? Steve?" He asked Tony. "He was flying a plane after fighting a Nazi, a man named Johan Schmidt. There were a lot of bombs on the plane, so Cap put the plane down in the ocean. He was a hero."

No one spoke for a while after that.

"I - I remember falling. Off a train, I think. And the man, Steve, he tried to get me. I woke up when they had begun cutting off my arm." Pepper seemed ready to cry, and Tony looked as if he was going to throw up. "I remember your parents." James whispered. "Howard he - he recognised me, and I killed him. You should have killed me before. You still should. There were so many innocent people. I killed children. Children who were barely old enough to understand what was going on."

And with that James closed his eyes.

* * *

**Tony POV**

That had been two days ago. So far, nobody had found out about James. That was good. Tony had found himself thinking about James multiple times throughout the 48 hours. He hadn't seen the man often. Tony had given James one of the rooms on his floor so it would James would be closer to Tony if James wanted to talk. That plan had obviously backfired.

So time for plan B. Tony was going to find a way to have a movie marathon with James. Starting with Harry Potter.

Tony made his way down the hallway to James' room and knocked on the door. "James, can I come in a sec?" Tony asked, and opened the door after receiving a barely audible affirmative. James was sitting upright on the bed, staring blankly at one of the walls. "So, this might be bad timing on my part seeing as walls are fascinating to stare at, but I was wondering if you wanted to watch some Harry Potter movies with me?" James looked over at Tony and shrugged slightly, and Tony's face lit up with joy.

"Cool, so that's settled. I'm going to make popcorn, and I'll get JARVIS to queue up the first movie. Is my room okay?" Tony asks, and James nodded slightly. "Then come on James, let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I am soo sorry. I said this would be updated soon and then three months later I write and publish the next chapter. I had severe writers block for ages, and I'm going to be writing more of this story tonight instead of sleeping. I only have two days left of school and I'm not learning anything so I'm going to pour a lot of effort into this story and hopefully update a lot more in the holidays. 
> 
> Again I'm sorry for the wait, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James wakes up not himself after the movie.

**Tony POV**

Turns out introducing James to the 21st century through Harry Potter was a good idea. James seemed to be thoroughly enjoying Harry's journey through Hogwarts, and there were even hints of a small smile on his face. It was the most happy Tony had seen the other man, and he was pretty pleased with himself.

James had fallen asleep sitting up on the couch in Tony's room, the movie still playing quietly in the background. Tony noted that James was more relaxed as he slept, his mouth hanging open slightly. Tony stood up and grabbed the duvet off of his bed.  Walking back to the couch, Tony covered James with the duvet. "Jarvis, turn down the lights please." Tony said to the AI before he left the room and headed to the workshop, closing the door behind him. 

* * *

 

**Soldier POV**

It woke up with a start, assessing it's surroundings.  _This is not a Hydra base,_ the Soldier thought to itself. Checking if there were any cameras ( _result, one near the door),_ the Soldier slowly made its way out of the room. Once out in the corridor, the Soldier made note of the exits ( _one, an elevator, although there are several closed doors)_. After making sure there were no threats in the room the Soldier made its way towards the elevator. 

"Sergeant Barnes," a voice said, and the Soldier spun around sharply.  _There was no one on the floor,_ it thought _, so where is the voice coming from?_ It saw a camera in a far corner of the hallway, and it's eyes narrowed.

"Who and where are you?" The Soldier demanded, it's voice hoarse from disuse. A slight Russian accent could be heard. "My name is Jarvis," the voice said. "I am on every floor of the Tower and I am Mr Stark's personal AI. If you would step into the elevator, I could take you to him." The Asset weighed it's options. It did not trust the - AI, it said it was called. But it was the only way the Soldier would know why it is here. The Soldier nodded and the elevator doors slid open, the Soldier walking in silently.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so I hope you enjoyed this chapter please leave a comment so I know what you guys think so far.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony meets the Soldier.

**Tony POV**

Tony had been fully immersed in updating the Iron Man suit when Jarvis spoke. "Sir, Sergeant Barnes is awake." Tony look up as Jarvis pulled up a live feed of his floor. James seemed to be inspecting the hallway, his face void of emotion. "How long have I been down here J?" Tony asked. "3 hours sir."

Not that long, Tony thought as he nodded distracted, watching James go into each of the rooms on his floor for a few minutes. "Hey Jarvis, get him down here. He looks like he's going through some kind of crisis." Tony tells the AI before going back tk the Iron Man suit.

Around five minutes later the door to the workshop opens and James walks in cautiously. Tony looks up and smiles. "There you are Freeze pop. You alright?" James stares at Tony for a moment his face blank. "Are you my handler?" Jams asks after a while, and Tony sighs. "I thought we went through this already Cyborg. There are no more handlers, no more missions. This isn't Hydra." James looks at Tony in silence, and Tony groans, putting down the screwdriver he was holding and walking over to James.

"Look James. You aren't Hydra's weapon anymore. Your name is James Barnes. You were forced to become the Winter Soldier after a decade of resisting, a decade of torture and conditioning." Tony tells him, but James just stares at him. "Come on, you have to remember something. What about Steve? Steve Rogers was your best friend 70 years ago, you remember that?"

James' expression changes after Tony mentions Steve, and his body relaxes. "T - Tony? What happened? I uh - I." Tony grabs James' shoulder. "Just slow down a second. Well work it out James, okay?

* * *

A week later as James had gone through 3 of these 'episodes'. So far between the two of them James and Tony had learned that during the episodes James reverted back to his Hydra programming, including referring to himself as "the Asset" or "the Soldier". James had also described the episodes as though he could see what he was doing but he almost couldn't stop himself from doing anything. What worried Tony about this was that it was also how James described his time as the Winter Soldier. Tony had a few ideas about why James had the episodes, but wanted to wait until he knew more about them before addressing this with James.

When they weren't analysing the episodes the two were trying to work out what James liked, with input from Pepper. Tony had given James a small notebook for him to write down anything he remembered he liked and anything he discovered he liked. Tony had enjoyed spending time with James, and it seemed to be the same for the other man as well. And they spent a lot of time talking about memories, whether it be memories James remembered or Tony's own experiences. Tony was glad he hadn't killed the other man after he found him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter and wow, two chapters in a day. I think I may be getting better at this.
> 
> The next chapter has some more insight into the Soldier's thoughts and the chapter after that should hopefully be some fluff and happy times between Tony and James.
> 
> Comment what you think of the story and I will see you guys soon.


End file.
